'HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG' Eldard: one to remember

The actor's role in 'House of Sand and Fog' has earned him great reviews.
By MILAN PAURICH
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
Thirty-eight-year-old Long Island native Ron Eldard is one of those familiar faces who keeps popping up in a variety of roles but whose name somehow eludes you.
Eldard was Julianna Margulies' troubled paramedic boyfriend on "ER" and straight man to Rob Schneider on the short-lived 1996 sitcom "Men Behaving Badly." He even did a stint in the daytime soap "One Life to Live."
On the big screen, Eldard played the American helicopter pilot captured by Somali rebels in "Black Hawk Down"; Brad Pitt and Kevin Bacon's boyhood buddy in "Sleepers"; and a heroic shuttle commander in the doomsday blockbuster "Deep Impact."
Maybe you were even lucky enough to have caught Eldard on Broadway as Biff in the Tony-winning 50th anniversary production of Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman" opposite Brian Dennehy.
Thanks to the new movie "House of Sand and Fog," Eldard could finally be on his way to becoming a household name. As Lester Burdon, the deputy sheriff who gets too personally involved in Jennifer Connelly's attempt to reclaim her home from Iranian immigrant Ben Kingsley, Eldard is earning some of the best reviews of his career.
An Oscar contender?
He's also being discussed as a possible Best Supporting Actor nominee in the upcoming Oscar race. During a recent telephone interview, Eldard discussed what it was like playing a character whose good intentions are his own worst enemy.
Q. In the film, why does Lester care so much about Kathy (Connelly's character) that he's willing to throw it all away?
A. He's a guy who's reached a point in his life where he asks, "Is this all there is?" Lester got married too early -- his wife was his best friend in high school -- and they had two kids almost instantly. Though he loves his family and loves being a cop, he's torn by what you can actually get done on the job, and how much you can really help people. So, when he meets Kathy, he's most struck by the fact that she really needs him. I don't think Lester is the first guy to go a little nuts over a beautiful woman.
Q. How did you get the part? I would have thought that every hot, i.e. bankable, young actor in Hollywood would have killed to play Lester.
A. I was actually stunned that the role was still available when I finally got to read for it. Vadim (Perelman, the film's director) and I just clicked right away. After several long meetings where we just talked about the script and character, it become clear that we should work together.
Q. All the characters in "Sand and Fog" seem to have such strong convictions, even when they're dead-wrong.
A. If you stop the film at 20-minute intervals, you'll find a different protagonist and antagonist each time. It almost borders on classic Greek tragedy. There's so much opera in the script that a lesser director could have easily gone way over the top with it. Fortunately, Vadim found just the right tone and stuck with it.
Working with a legend
Q. Lester's confrontation with Sir Ben Kinglsey's Behrani is one of the highlights of the film. What was it like working with screen legend Kingsley?
A. Sir Ben and I created that scene together like it was theater, and we even got to do our own blocking. I think that Lester and Behrani are two gorillas marking their turf: Both of them think they have the upper hand. As intense as the emotions in that scene were, it was actually a great deal of fun to shoot. Actors live for moments like that.
Q. A lot of the information about Lester is conveyed solely through your performance rather than the script. Is there a longer version of the film?
A. The original cut ran three hours, and my character definitely took a hit in the final editing. There were three really beautiful scenes between Lester and his kids that made it a lot clearer what was going on with his home life. Needless to say, I was sorry to see them go.